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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. scale — size or range
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. tube — a container
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. dip — to sink
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — in music
  19. chip — to eat
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chip — for betting
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com